4/11/2019 Women May Be Better Leaders Than Men, So Why Aren't There More?

- TLNT

Women May Be Better Leaders Than Men,

So Why Aren’t There More?
By STEFFEN MAIER APRIL 6, 2017

This is first of two parts on gender diversity in leadership positions. Today’s article discusses the
current lack of women leaders, the reasons why, as well as describing the benefits women
leaders bring to an organization. Part two, o ering solutions, will post tomorrow.
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4/11/2019 Women May Be Better Leaders Than Men, So Why Aren't There More? - TLNT

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The most recent allegations of sexual harassment by management and subsequent apathy by
HR at hot tech startup Uber have once again brought to the fore the lack of progress we’ve
made in gender equality. What Susan Fowler’s story highlights is that not only do women face
direct discrimination from managers and peers, when they speak out they o en feel the
backlash in their opportunities for advancement.

The lack of female leaders in general, and especially in the tech world, is one of the most highly
discussed challenges. All the industry giants have been criticized for continuing to have such
low numbers of women on the board, in management positions or even in the workforce in
general. This has caused many, such as Facebook, Google and Apple to publicly release reports
on their diversity statistics and commit to developing more female leaders. The numbers of
women of color in leadership positions is even lower. A study by the AAUW found that out of
Standard & Poor’s 500 only 4% of executive o icials and managers were women of color.

Bottom line impacts

Not only is this an issue about equality, it also greatly impacts a company’s bottom line.
Studies show that companies which are more gender diverse are 15% more likely to
outperform and those which are more ethnically diverse are 35% more likely to outperform.
Companies with more female leaders are also proven to be more profitable. In fact, studies
have shown that women are typically rated as being more e ective leaders overall than men
by their reports, peers and managers. So why are there so few female leaders?

How bias works in the workplace

Even if your company has a clear policy against inequality in promotions and pay, why does it
still happen? To find out you have to look at the root causes.

Similarity bias: Similarity bias is the tendency for people to want to help and mentor people
who remind them of themselves when they were coming up in the company. As the majority of
managers are still men, it’s not uncommon for them to see themselves in a male report who
may have the same personality and interests as them when they began working. Even if
unconscious, this can lead managers to favor certain reports with extra mentoring and,
thereby, opportunities for development.

In feedback: Feedback and performance reviews are essential to helping employees develop
professionally and for companies to identify top performers for new positions. When

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4/11/2019 Women May Be Better Leaders Than Men, So Why Aren't There More? - TLNT

unconscious bias finds its way into these important tools for advancement, it can cause
women to be held back under the radar.

A joint 2016 study by McKinsey & Company and

LeanIn.org found that, while both genders ask for
feedback equally, women are 20% less likely to
receive di icult feedback. The most common
answer given is that managers don’t want to
seem “mean” or “hurtful.” Most managers already
find it di icult to give constructive feedback, even
when their employees ask for it. If male managers
hold on to an unconscious fear that women will be
more likely to react emotionally to feedback, their
female reports will not receive the same coaching
opportunities as their male peers.

Adding another layer, a study by the Center for Talent Innovation found that ⅔ of men in senior
positions pulled back from 1-on-1 contact with junior female employees for fear that they
might be suspected of having an a air.

What’s more, when women do receive feedback, studies show it is o en vague and not tied to
business outcomes. This means that, whether it’s positive or constructive, women are less
likely to be told what specific actions contributed to the team/company objectives or how they
can improve. Meanwhile, their male colleagues are more likely to receive a clear picture of how
they’re doing and what they can do to improve.

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4/11/2019 Women May Be Better Leaders Than Men, So Why Aren't There More? - TLNT

People also have a tendency to see certain behaviors as primarily male or female. For example,
assertiveness, independence and authority are o en stereotyped as “male,” while supportive,
collaborative and helpful are perceived as typically “female.” Therefore, studies show that
when women demonstrate qualities typically associated with men, it is o en criticized. For
example, two studies cited in The Wall Street Journal in particular have shown that while men
are o en described as “confident and assertive,” for the same behavior, women are described
as “abrasive and o -putting. “

Are men more e ective leaders?

However, a study by Zenger and Folkman
sought to evaluate the e ectiveness of male
versus female leaders in 16 leadership qualities.
Overall women were perceived as more
e ective and surpassed men in 12 categories,
even those typically perceived as “male” such
as taking initiative and driving for results.

Perhaps most convincing of all, a meta-analysis

of 99 data sets from 95 studies conducted
between 1962-2011 published in the Journal of
Applied Psychology, similarly found that female leaders were rated by their reports, peers and
managers as being just as or even more e ective than male leaders.

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4/11/2019 Women May Be Better Leaders Than Men, So Why Aren't There More? - TLNT

The interesting question is why women continue to be overlooked for leadership positions?
These studies may reveal some answers. For one, the meta-analysis showed that, while they’re
rated highly by others, many have a tendency to underrate themselves in their self-
assessments. Another, as mentioned previously, is the tendency to perceive the desired
leadership skills as those regularly stereotyped as “male”.

Stereotyping women leaders

The problem is not just how men and women are being stereotyped but also how roles are
being stereotyped. The qualities most o en looked for in a leader, such as assertiveness,
authority and taking initiative are also those typically misidentified as typically “male traits.”

These traits represent an outdated perception we have of the typical authoritarian manager
who oversees, pushes for results and relays information from the executive level. Continuing to
rely on this standard view of the typical manager is not only blocking women from being
chosen for leadership positions, but also harming many organizations. A study by Gallup found
that companies chose the wrong person for management positions 82% of the time.

In today’s flattening, collaborative, autonomous work atmosphere companies are beginning to

realize they want coaches, not managers. Some of the top qualities needed are instead:
emotional intelligence, coaching/mentoring, ability to motivate and engage through purpose,
empowering through autonomy and ownership. In e ect, not only are our perceptions of
female vs male leaders incorrect, our perceptions of what makes a great leader are also based
on outdated stereotypes.

Part two of this article will post tomorrow. It lists 6 steps your company can take to develop
female leaders and increase the number of women in management positions.

Ste en Maier
Ste en Maier is the co-founder of Impraise , the People Enablement Platform. Impraise’s belief is
simple: Grow your people, grow your business. They help unleash people’s potential, doing more than

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